


love and mario

by hanabi



Category: Persona 5
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Persona 5 Spoilers, Spoilers, i guess lol, kids and their feelings man, these are my kids and i want them to kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-03
Updated: 2017-01-03
Packaged: 2018-09-14 09:58:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9175426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hanabi/pseuds/hanabi
Summary: sometimes you're sitting on the couch playing mario run and you accidentally somehow end up making out with your new best friend (it happens)or: ryuuji is a puppy and he thinks ann's amazing





	

**Author's Note:**

> sooooo this is nvg but the game's not out in english yet and i'm LONELY without anyone to talk to about it so here have this dumpster fire containing all of my feelings!!
> 
> spoilers through the second dungeon because that's as far as i've gotten in the let's play i've been watching 3
> 
> idt ann is this thirsty tho that's probably just me sry sry abt all of this

Sakamoto Ryuuji is a _fucking idiot_. 

Ann doesn’t need anyone to tell her this. She’s known it for years, since they were distantly aware of each other’s existences in middle school. And now that they’ve been basically spending most of almost every day together, she feels confident enough to declare herself an expert on the matter. From the way he chews on his straws to the point that they’re all but unrecognizable when he’s thinking hard about something, or sometimes forgets to chew his food all the way before laughing too loud, to the way he insists on rolling the cuffs of his pants up so his ankles are exposed even in the middle of winter. Sakamoto Ryuuji is a _fucking idiot_.

But for some reason she can’t seem to imagine life without him.

Ann collapsed on Akira’s couch, exhausted from an afternoon spent crawling around Mementos. It had been some weeks since they’d successfully stolen the treasure from Madarame’s palace, so they were biding their time for the moment, training themselves as best they could while waiting for news of their next big target. Sojiro-san had already gone home for the day, so they had the café to themselves to decompress and debrief, just the five of them (the squad, the--merry band of thieves). Akira and Yusuke had gone out to pick up the food they’d all ordered for dinner, insistent that Ann should stay back and rest. (Even though all of them gave the shadows as good as they got, no exceptions, Yusuke noted that Ann was the only one who had to do so in heels, and she was too tired anyway to have anything to gain by protesting.) Ryuuji stayed behind to let them in in case their hands were too full when they came back.

“Scoot over, you’re taking up the whole couch,” he chided gently, squeezing himself into the few inches of unoccupied space between Ann’s head and the arm of the sofa. Ann mumbled an indistinct protest, shrinking her shoulders down before opting to rest her head in his lap. Ryuuji barely registered her presence there, eyes fixated on whatever game he was playing on his phone--he just shifted slightly to accommodate her better while making himself comfortable.

Ann closed her eyes and exhaled deeply, feeling exhausted out of her mind. But happy. After everything that had happened over the past few months--feeling the double ostracization of being treated like a foreigner in her own town and then targeted by Kamoshida--the almost paralyzing feeling that she had failed her only friend in the whole world, her friend who at some times she thought she loved more than herself--followed by the sudden loss of her company at school… After all that, an earlier version of herself might have been ready to give up and accept her loneliness as some sort of punishment.

It was the moment she refused to tolerate any more than she awoke to her persona--her true self--a vicious and unforgiving panther determined to protect her loved ones at all costs, yet no longer willing to sacrifice herself to the greed and whims of others. A self a past her would have expected to be lonelier than ever--only somehow now she was finding herself closer to others than she ever would have thought possible. Valuing her whole self was a work in progress, for sure, but--for the first time in her life, she found herself enjoying the company of others she could trust with herself, even _while_ she was still working on it, and who, even more remarkably, weren’t asking for anything different or more.

She was stirred from her thoughts by the sound of Ryuuji swearing softly under his breath--apparently things in his game weren’t going the way he wanted them to. She opened her eyes sleepily and gazed up at him, mostly in disbelief that he had the energy to be so focused on anything, even if it was just some silly mobile game he’d most likely forget about and delete within a week. Still, she watched the way his brow furrowed deeply in concentration, the way his lips pressed together tightly in determination. After a second, she asked softly, “what happened?”

“Huh? Oh, haha,” Ryuuji’s eyes flicked down to her face, caught off guard and a little confused about what she was talking about, before returning just as quickly to his phone. “I missed a jump so I lost all my coins,” he replied, in a tone that somehow managed to be self-deprecating and mournful at the same time. Idly, he rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand and worked out some of the strain in his shoulders--possibly the first sign he'd shown all night that the hours of fighting shadows each day was taking any sort of toll on him.

Ann pushed herself up and scooted closer to look over his shoulder, curling her legs underneath herself. Ryuuji rearranged himself so she could see better as he explained the game, though it seemed more or less straightforward to her. “See because you run forward automatically, and you jump like this,” he tapped at the screen, “but if you miss it and fall then you lose all your coins and get sent backwards.” He sighed sadly, as though some of those coins were the best friends he ever had.

Ann made a vague sound of not quite interest (but not _not_ interest) while she watched him play. It didn't seem that difficult to her, but then, this wasn’t exactly her area of expertise. “I’m not that good at it,” he laughed after about half a minute, shrugging as he tapped the screen a few more times, eventually reaching the finish line. “Wanna try?”

Ann looked at his face as he handed his phone to her, smile wide as ever. In a way, that was what made spending time with Ryuuji almost comforting. He never had anything but the purest distillation of his exact feelings on his face, 24/7. Ann wondered if he even knew how to be anything other than at least 280% honest. You always knew what you were getting with Ryuuji, for better or for worse. She took the phone and settled into the couch next to him, feeling his arm brush against her shoulder as he selected the first level for her.

“You don’t need to tap to jump over enemies unless you wanna kill them,” he informed her, taking the opportunity to stretch his arms out and crack his neck, relishing the sound and feeling of his bones popping satisfyingly. It was warm that night, and Ryuuji, who always wore his clothes like someone who hated wearing clothes, had rolled the sleeves of his tshirt up as far as they could go.

Ann watched him stretch, doing her best not to let her eyes linger too long on the lean muscle of his arms, or the small strip of skin the hem of his tshirt exposed when he stretched languidly backwards. Since he hurt his leg, he’d been doing more weight training to fill the void that was left in his life when he had to stop running. It was usually hard to tell because of his thin frame and his uniform, but from up close it was unmistakable. She was only grateful he did leave his shirt on despite his aversion to high temperatures--she couldn’t say for certain if he actually had abs or not, but she had her suspicions, and if she had to bear witness she might genuinely scream.

Luckily, she was jerked out of her thoughts when the level start music began to play. Shifting her attention back to his phone, she tapped a few times experimentally, taking out three enemies all in a row.

“Hey, you're pretty good!” Ryuuji exclaimed enthusiastically, leaning over her shoulder to observe her progress. Ann snorted softly at his excitement, feeling his chest push innocently against her shoulder. “It's not like it's that hard, Ryuuji.”

“Mmm you say that now,” he started seriously, “but wait till you get to th--HOW’D YOU DO THAT??” he all but yelped in surprise, diving towards the phone as she played.

“Do what--oh my god Ryuuji, do what??” Ann elbowed him out of the way in an effort to keep playing as he tried to clamber over her for a better look.

“I’ve never made that jump, never! Oh my god,” he marveled, eyes wide with wonder and admiration. “Ann, you're amazing.”

“Shut up,” she laughed, batting his hands away, unable to believe how he could be so impressed over something so small. “God, how bad even are you at this game??”

“I’m serious,” he insisted, grabbing clumsily at her hands so he could have a better look. Ann sighed and leaned back against him, getting as comfortable as she could to keep playing with two sets of hands on the same device. After playing a level or two, she could see why it was fun, though she suspected she would probably get bored of it pretty quickly. Ryuuji, on the other hand, was beside himself.

“You beat my high score already! How are you so good at this?”

Ann turned her face to look at him, only now realizing how close their faces were. His eyes were all but sparkling, and she thought in that moment that she had never seen another person so happy because of something she’d done, let alone something as small as this. His joy was catching, and she found herself smiling back, meeting his gaze with as much confidence as beating someone’s high score without trying truly warranted.

“What, are you surprised?”

“No,” he responded, smile somehow growing even wider than it was before. Ann returned his grin proudly (were her cheeks starting to hurt?), before finding her eyes drifting unconsciously down towards his mouth, and Ryuuji--almost definitely without realizing it--followed her example, before licking his lips and gulping almost............... nervously. “Of course not,” he continued, releasing her hands and moving to push away, suddenly hyper-aware of how close they were, eyes determined to look anywhere but at her face.

Ann wasn’t quite sure what came over her in that moment, but she knew she had to think fast before she inevitably came to her senses. Ryuuji lifted a hand to run through his hair, excuses on the tip of his tongue, but Ann beat him to it, placing her hand on his jaw and turning his face softly towards hers.

His eyes widened as she looked up at him through her eyelashes then flicked her eyes down to his mouth again, biting her lip slightly as though deep in thought. Then she closed the distance between them, too quick to second guess herself, eyes squeezed shut and hands pulling him towards her, his arms flailing fecklessly by her sides. His phone fell forgotten between the couch cushions, still playing the game music on loop between levels. It took him a moment to register what was happening--or rather, that it was really happening--but once he did, he grinned sloppily into the kiss, placing his hands tentatively on the small of her back and holding her close to return it enthusiastically. He held her like the world depended on it--like he was afraid that if he loosened his grip she might vanish into thin air, or worse, come to her senses.

Elated, Ann slid her hands from his face down to his neck, over his shoulders and down to his chest (his stupid, and indeed, fairly muscular chest), and without thinking, began pushing him gently back against the arm of the couch. Ryuuji whimpered-- _whimpered_ \--slightly, still unable to believe this was happening. He pulled Ann closer still, opening his mouth against hers and shuddering when she pressed herself languidly against him, legs intertwining with his. Tentatively pressing his tongue against her lips, he all but deflated with relief when she met his with hers, giggling softly before sighing happily into his mouth.

“Ann--I--fuck--” he managed to breathe out between kisses, moving a hand from her back up to cradle her face. Ann pulled back slightly to look at him, coloring when he rubbed his thumb lightly over her cheekbone--as though such a tender gesture embarrassed her more than anything else they'd done in the last few minutes. Ryuuji grinned his crooked grin up at her, hair all mussed up and blush coloring his cheeks, and she saw in his face what she always did when she looked at him--his unaffected earnestness, dependability, and his…………….. inexplicably short eyebrows.

Before she knew it, she felt laughter bubble up inside of her. Ryuuji looked up at her, surprised, eyes wide with curiosity, and she laughed harder, forehead dropping to rest against his. Not quite understanding, he started laughing along with her, his hand coming up to tangle in her soft curls before wrapping around her neck to hold her there for a moment. Grounding her. Anchoring her. Calming down a bit, she felt his breath ghost against her cheeks, his thumb run along the back of her neck, and she looked down to see his smiling mouth. After a few seconds there, she smiled, smoothing down the fabric of his tshirt that she'd crumpled between her fingers. She met his eyes again, strong and reassuring, and began leaning back in before--

“We’re back, Ann-donoOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”

The two leapt apart, Ann blushing furiously and rearranging her skirt, which had somehow been thrown askew in the midst of all the activity. Standing at the door were Akira, staring bewilderedly, Yusuke, stifling a laugh, and Morgana, fur standing up on edge and looking positively betrayed. Ann climbed off of Ryuuji and placed her feet on the floor, one hand smoothing down her skirt, the other adjusting her hair absentmindedly. Ryuuji offered a helpless kind of smile, pulling himself up and running a hand through his hair.

“So,” Yusuke started, smile curving up sardonically as he placed the bags of takeout he was carrying down on the table. “I take it this is why you haven't been answering your phones.”

Ann gasped quietly and began digging in the couch cushions in search of Ryuuji’s phone, which had long since gone to sleep and given up on playing the game music. Akira followed Yusuke, chuckling quietly, while Morgana jumped on the arm of the couch to stare Ryuuji down accusingly.

“Sorry,” Ryuuji offered at last, glancing from Morgana, to Ann, to his best friend. “We, uh. lost track of time.”

“Oh god,” Ann interjected, having finally located Ryuuji’s phone and lit it up to catch a glimpse at the clock. “Is that the time?” she asked, looking up at her newly returned friends with an unaffected grin. “I’ve gotta get home.”

“But Ann-dono!! We just got back,” Morgana whined, giving her the saddest cat eyes he could manage.

“I know,” she chirped cheerfully, starting to gather up her things, “but I told my mom I wouldn't be late tonight.”

Ryuuji gave her a questioning look, which she returned with a smile, pressing his phone into his chest and holding it there until he lifted his hand to take it. “You all have fun now,” she said, not breaking eye contact, before standing up, slinging her bag over her shoulder, and walking out towards the café.

Akira, Yusuke, and Morgana all stared at Ryuuji in silence, until his brain caught up with the situation and he clambered out of the room after her.

“Ann--wait--I,” he stammered, stumbling into the bar after her. Ann paused by the door, just about to walk out, and turned around to face him, the look on her face somewhat inscrutable. Ryuuji shoved his hands in his pockets and hunched up his shoulders, clearing his throat before mumbling, “So I’ll, uh. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Ann smiled and walked towards him, put her hands on his sides and boosted herself up on her toes, leaning in for a quick kiss. Letting out a short, happy breath when they parted, she repeated, “see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah,” Ryuuji agreed, grinning, if it was possible, even wider than he had all night. “Tomorrow.” Ann let out a short laugh and walked towards the door. “I really do have to go though,” she said, hand on the doorknob.

“Cool,” he replied, a little overenthusiastically. “No worries, get home safe.”

“Okay. See you.”

“See you.”

Ann shut the door behind her and leaned against it briefly, looking up at the night sky. There was too much light from the city to make out any stars, but the moon was shining just as bright as it ever had. She took a deep breath in, and let it out slowly, before making her way towards home.

Inside, Ryuuji rubbed at his neck, collecting his thoughts before climbing the stairs back to Akira’s room. He shoved his hands back in his pockets, and made his way back to Akira’s room--where he was greeted with a house slipper flying at his head and a shriek of “RYUUJI WHAT THE HELL.” He looked at Morgana, wondering how he managed to launch anything at his head from so low to the ground using only his cat paws. Yusuke, meanwhile, was leaning back in his chair, looking amused, while Akira occupied himself primarily with his udon, his typical look of innocence plastered onto his face. Ryuuji, suddenly envying Ann for her success in making such an early escape, slumped down in a chair, examining the takeout containers on the table.

“So,” he ventured lightly, “what'd you guys get?”

**Author's Note:**

> i'm garbage at mario run btw


End file.
